New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Hornets - Game 11

New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Hornets – Game 11

Franchise Sports Media

Los Angeles Lakers (6-5) | Charlotte Hornets (5-7)

 

The Los Angeles Lakers fended off a late comeback to pull off a big overtime win against the Charlotte Hornets 126-123.

 

News broke Sunday that LeBron James may be out one to two months after the Lakers unveiled a “more realistic” timeline, leaving the team in a shorthanded position for some games to come, beginning with LaMelo Ball and the Hornets.

The first two minutes of the game were all about the big men of the two teams, as DeAndre Jordan won the opening tip against Mason Plumlee and turned it into catching a lob from Russell Westbrook for the game’s first points.

Gordon Hayward responded with a layup on the other end, but he was answered quickly by a Jordan field goal. Then, Anthony Davis scored his first points with a tip-in off a miss from Kent Bazemore.

The Lakers maintained a slim lead until almost five minutes passed when Ball hit a three to tie the game at 11. Then, Hayward gave Charlotte their first lead since the beginning of the quarter with a floater in the paint.

The teams went back and forth through the rest of the quarter, with neither team gaining any momentum. Los Angeles scored nine straight points late in the first quarter to build an eight-point lead, but the Hornets fought back with Nick Richards and Terry Rozier cutting the lead to 29-26 as the first buzzer sounded.

The second quarter began with the teams continuing to keep each other at bay. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Westbrook traded short-distance shots while Miles Bridges tied the game with a three. Oubre Jr. hit a go-ahead three two minutes later, only to be answered with a three from Malik Monk. Davis regained the lead for Los Angeles by catching a Rajon Rondo lob for a layup and followed it up with five straight points via free throws. Davis took advantage of the charity stripe and a Hornets missed shot and hit a mid-range jump shot to increase the lead to nine.

The Hornets responded with a 7-0 run in under a minute to bring the margin back to two. The teams once again traded shots and bursts of momentum, keeping the game close with Los Angeles still maintaining the lead. With less than 30 seconds remaining, Rozier hit a step-back three to put the Hornets up by two, but Carmelo Anthony joined the party with a three of his own to end the half.

 

The Lakers maintained a very slim 61-60 lead heading into the break.

 

Charlotte came out of the break getting off to a fast start to begin the third quarter, going on a 7-0 run to take a six-point lead with a dunk from Plumlee and the other five points coming from Rozier. After a brief stalemate, the lead extended to eight thanks to Rozier continuing to have the hot-hand from downtown. However, the Lakers fought back and began cutting into the lead with 4:30 left in the third quarter.

Davis hit a layup, leading to 11 straight points from the Lakers. Wayne Ellington gave Los Angeles the lead before Oubre Jr. and Rozier fought back to help the Hornets re-take the lead. However, Los Angeles kept the momentum in their favor as Anthony gave the Lakers the lead back with a three, followed by Davis throwing down two dunks 31 seconds apart. Monk hit a buzzer-beater three-pointer from 41 feet out at the end of the quarter, giving the Lakers a 94-87 lead after three quarters concluded.

The fourth quarter started with just one point in the first minute by Dwight Howard from the free-throw line before the pace picked up once again. A minute and a half into the quarter, Anthony and Monk sank field goals to extend the Lakers’ lead to 11. With 7:45 left, Howard caught and threw down a lob from Westbrook to make it a 12 point lead. The Hornets began to fight back again with around four minutes remaining as Hayward hit a field goal and Ball made five straight free throws (due to consecutive delay of games and technical fouls by the Lakers) along with paint points after Westbrook’s free throws to cut the lead to four.

The Lakers tried to keep the Hornets behind, but with 23.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Bridges tied the game at 115 with a running three. With 1.3 seconds left, Davis attempted a three to ice the game, but it was no good, allowing Ball to get the rebound and allowing the Hornets to call a timeout.

 

After the timeout, Bridges tried to be the hero for Charlotte, but his three didn’t go either, which sent the game to overtime.

 

The teams traded baskets once more in the overtime frame, keeping the intensity throughout the extra period. With 2:00 left, the Lakers trailed by two until Anthony hit a big running three to regain the lead. After a Hayward turnover, Davis hit a short field goal to extend the lead to three but was quickly answered by Rozier to again make it a one-point game. Plumlee fouled Davis with 49.4 seconds left in overtime, leading to Davis sinking both free throws.

In the final 35 seconds, Bridges tried a three to tie the game but bricked. Davis attempted a jumper with 12 seconds left but also hit the rim without points. After a Hornets timeout, Rozier shot a three of his own, only to be blocked by Davis, and a final attempt by Cody Martin came up empty as the Lakers survived an intense game to win 126-123.

The Lakers had strong showings from Davis, Anthony, and Westbrook as a total of five Lakers reached double digits in points. Davis led all scorers with 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for a double-double. Anthony had 29 points off the bench, capping another impressive outing for the veteran. Westbrook finished with a triple-double of 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists, while Monk and Jordan scored 10 points apiece.

The Hornets had all five starters scoring double-digit points, led by Rozier with 29 on the night. Ball got himself a triple-double with 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists. Hayward added 21 points, while Bridges scored 19, and Plumlee notched a double-double with 13 points and ten rebounds.

 

The next Lakers game will take place on Wednesday at Staples Center against the Miami Heat. The second game of their five-game homestand will begin at 7:00 and can be seen on ESPN and Spectrum SportsNet.

 

Lakers vs Hornets                    Lakers vs Hornets                 Lakers vs Hornets                 Lakers vs Hornets                 Lakers vs Hornets                    Lakers vs Hornets                 Lakers vs Hornets                 Lakers vs Hornets                 Lakers vs Hornets                    Lakers vs Hornets                 Lakers vs Hornets                  

– Matt Dobbs – Franchise Sports Media

Follow Matt on Twitter @RecordBowlerFSM

Follow The Franchise on social media

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube